Riviera Beach

Serving customers using cleaner and more affordable U.S.-produced natural gas.

Riviera Beach Next Generation Clean Energy Center

The Riviera Beach Next Generation Clean Energy Center began serving customers in the spring of 2014 using cleaner and more affordable U.S.-produced natural gas.

This modernized, combined-cycle natural gas plant was constructed at a cost of approximately $1.3 billion and replaces a 1960s-era, oil-and-gas-fired plant that was demolished on June 19, 2011.

Utilizing cleaner-burning, U.S.-produced natural gas frees FPL from using imported, foreign oil. System wide, the company has reduced its use of imported foreign oil by more than 98 percent – from more than 40 million barrels of oil in 2001 to less than 1 million barrels annually.

The new plant will use 33 percent less fuel per megawatt-hour which will save customers money on future fuel costs and produce far fewer emissions. It will generate up to 1,250 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power roughly 250,000 homes and businesses.

Energy center overview

The new clean energy center, located on a 39-acre site on the Intracoastal Waterway in Palm Beach County, features a sleeker profile, with stacks about half as tall.

The modernized plant will improve air quality at this site by significantly reducing emissions.

The rate of carbon-dioxide emissions at the Next Generation Clean Energy Center will decrease by 50 percent, based on normal operations. That’s equal to removing about 46,000 cars from the road annually over the life of the project.

The office building onsite is certified as environmentally sustainable. For example, it will feature rooftop solar panels and there are plans for an electric-car recharging station.

The approximately $1.3 billion modernized Next Generation Clean Energy Center is considerably more efficient than the former facility, using about 33 percent less fuel to produce the same amount of power and is projected to produce net savings of hundreds of millions of dollars for FPL customers over its 30-year lifetime.

FPL expects the project to deliver approximately $25 million in new tax revenue to Palm Beach County and local governments to benefit area residents. Over the life of the plant, it is projected to generate approximately $350 million in tax revenue for Palm Beach County.

Protecting manatees

For more than 30 years, FPL has diligently protected manatees and worked to educate our customers about these gentle, warm-blooded sea cows. For years, manatees have warmed themselves during the winter months near natural springs or warm-water outflows of coastal power plants, with hundreds gathering each year.

In April 2014, FPL unveiled plans for an innovative manatee education center for the public at the site of its clean energy center in Riviera Beach. The Key West-style center, situated along the Intracoastal Waterway in Palm Beach County, is scheduled to open during the winter 2015/2016 season. To create a dynamic educational experience for visitors focused on endangered manatees and Florida’s environment, this center will include educational exhibits, a boardwalk, manatee viewing area and classrooms.

FPL supports manatee research including tagging and aerial surveys at its facilities to help assess the health of manatee herds. Monitoring the well-being of manatees is just part of our environmental commitment.

Economic benefits

FPL’s Riviera Beach Next Generation Clean Energy Center employed more than 950 people at the height of construction including electricians, welders, pipefitters and carpenters. These workers created an economic boon for local businesses over the three years during the energy center’s construction.

In 2015, when the plant enters its first full year of operation, FPL expects to deliver approximately $25 million in new tax revenue to Palm Beach County and local governments to benefit residents. Over the life of the plant, it is projected to generate approximately $350 million in tax revenue for Palm Beach County.